As wildfire smoke from the Western United States drifted across the country this summer — reaching even Washington, D.C. — it became increasingly difficult for Congress to ignore the crisis playing out in forests, rangelands, and communities from California to Idaho. The result: a burst of legislative activity on wildfire policy that advocates say is long overdue.
Fix Our Forests Act Gains White House Backing
The Fix Our Forests Act, a bipartisan bill that would expand forest management, accelerate prescribed burns, and streamline environmental reviews for wildfire mitigation projects, gained significant momentum in August 2026 when it received White House backing. The legislation — co-sponsored by members from both parties — is designed to address the root causes of catastrophic fire by reducing fuel loads in high-risk landscapes and speeding up the administrative processes that have historically slowed forest management work.
Supporters of the bill point to the 2026 season as compelling evidence of what happens when fuel management is delayed. Oregon's 2.3 million acres burned and Washington's 840+ structure losses near Spokane have given the legislation a sense of urgency that advocates say is qualitatively different from prior years.
Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act
In July 2026, Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced the bipartisan Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act (WEPA) of 2026. The bill would make it easier for states and communities to use prescribed fire to reduce wildfire smoke, protect ecosystems and wildlife habitat, and improve community safety.
The WEPA addresses a persistent tension in environmental law: prescribed burns produce smoke that can temporarily violate air quality standards, discouraging land managers from conducting burns even when they would ultimately prevent far larger and more damaging smoke events from catastrophic wildfires. By creating regulatory flexibility for planned burns, the bill aims to unlock a powerful tool that many fire scientists consider essential to long-term forest health.
Senators Sound Alarm on Resource Shortages
Separately, Senators Padilla, Bennet, and Schiff have sent a letter to NIFC and USFS leadership sounding the alarm about firefighting resource shortages during the 2026 season. The letter cites the extraordinary demands placed on aerial and ground resources, the activation of military MAFFS aircraft past the one-million-gallon mark, and the difficult tradeoffs fire managers faced when multiple large fires competed for the same limited pool of aircraft, crews, and equipment.
The senators called for a comprehensive review of federal firefighting capacity and emergency resource stockpiling to ensure the country is better prepared for future high-severity seasons.
DOI Wildland Fire Service Proposal
The 2026 fire season is also occurring against the backdrop of a significant proposed restructuring of federal wildfire management. The administration has proposed transferring all wildfire funding and management authority to a newly created Department of the Interior U.S. Wildland Fire Service — a move that would consolidate fire programs currently split between DOI and the U.S. Forest Service (USDA).
Congressional reaction has been mixed. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins noted that while the administration proposes a budget and organizational structure, Congress holds the power of the purse. The proposal remains under active debate, with fire management professionals and advocacy groups offering a range of views on whether consolidation would improve or complicate coordination.
National Prescribed Fire Act
The National Prescribed Fire Act of 2025 (H.R. 3889), introduced in the 119th Congress, is also under active consideration. The bill would establish a national framework for collaborative prescribed fire programs, provide funding for prescribed burn associations, and set national standards for prescribed fire planning and implementation. It has drawn support from a broad coalition of forestry, ranching, conservation, and tribal stakeholders.
The Bottom Line
The 2026 wildfire season has arrived at a potentially pivotal moment in American fire policy. With bipartisan agreement that the status quo is not working — and a season that has burned more than 8.5 million acres nationally — the conditions for meaningful reform may be more favorable than at any point in recent memory. Whether Congress can turn that urgency into durable legislation before the next fire season arrives remains to be seen.